1
as in struggled
to devote serious and sustained effort
everyone really hustled to get the project finished on schedule
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in hurried
to proceed or move quickly
we'd better hustle, or we'll miss the train
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in squeezed
to rob by the use of trickery or threats
a swindler who hustled cashiers by getting them all confused while they were making change
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hustled
The dads and sons hustled to a nearby dirt patch.
—
Charles Bethea, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2026
Minnesota pulled even in the fourth when Byron Buxton hustled home on sacrifice fly by Josh Bell.
—CBS News, 28 Mar. 2026
Shade was always a hard worker, the kind of player who hustled on every possession, but the intangibles didn’t always come naturally to her.
—Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 23 Mar. 2026
Santa Clara quickly hustled down the floor, and Allen Graves drained a 3-pointer with just two seconds left to give them a 73-70 lead.
—Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 20 Mar. 2026
Skin torn off the top of LeBron James’ knee, the Lakers star sharing a photo to Instagram on Monday morning, is somehow a representative image of how the team hustled its way to a five-game winning streak.
—Benjamin Royer, Oc Register, 17 Mar. 2026
Gonzales hustled down the line on the play.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 10 Mar. 2026
Early in the second period, just after Greaves got caught out of the net while playing a puck to his right, Provorov hustled to the other side of the net and sprawled across the ice, blocking a shot by Florida’s Tomas Nosek that would have tied the score at 1.
—Aaron Portzline, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2026
Undermanned Sacramento hustled its way back into the game and trailed by just one with less than five minutes remaining in the third quarter.
—ABC News, 21 Feb. 2026
Charles Bethea, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2026
Minnesota pulled even in the fourth when Byron Buxton hustled home on sacrifice fly by Josh Bell.
—CBS News, 28 Mar. 2026
Shade was always a hard worker, the kind of player who hustled on every possession, but the intangibles didn’t always come naturally to her.
—Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 23 Mar. 2026
Santa Clara quickly hustled down the floor, and Allen Graves drained a 3-pointer with just two seconds left to give them a 73-70 lead.
—Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 20 Mar. 2026
Skin torn off the top of LeBron James’ knee, the Lakers star sharing a photo to Instagram on Monday morning, is somehow a representative image of how the team hustled its way to a five-game winning streak.
—Benjamin Royer, Oc Register, 17 Mar. 2026
Gonzales hustled down the line on the play.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 10 Mar. 2026
Early in the second period, just after Greaves got caught out of the net while playing a puck to his right, Provorov hustled to the other side of the net and sprawled across the ice, blocking a shot by Florida’s Tomas Nosek that would have tied the score at 1.
—Aaron Portzline, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2026
Undermanned Sacramento hustled its way back into the game and trailed by just one with less than five minutes remaining in the third quarter.
—ABC News, 21 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hustled
Verb
-
Severino struggled with his control, walking five and throwing just 49 of his 91 pitches for strikes before he was lifted after 3 1/3 innings.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
2 Apr. 2026
-
The national team, called the Leopards, struggled as the country’s domestic league operated without support from sponsors or government funding.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Ember hurried to take it off the flame before the whistle could gather itself and call out.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 Apr. 2026
-
An agent pointed to the other end of the terminal, and the woman hurried off.—
Ruby Cramer,
New Yorker,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
And almost all traffic goes through two main shipping lanes that are even more squeezed.—
Annette Choi,
CNN Money,
27 Mar. 2026
-
More than 22,000 oranges are squeezed, and hundreds of gallons of drinks are poured, all for opening day.—
Caroline Foreback,
CBS News,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Lamarck surely labored over these Romantic effusions.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Texas starter Dylan Volantis labored through a long first inning, but a pop-out to catcher Carson Tinney stranded two runners on base.—
Danny Davis,
Austin American Statesman,
22 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
All three Mets runners scored as Baty scurried to third with a triple.—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
26 Mar. 2026
-
With Game 3 of the World Series underway at Dodger Stadium last October, a few folks scurried across a pedestrian bridge with LED lights and blue glow sticks.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Some songs here have been plucked from Robyn’s back catalog and given a dusting up for the 2020s.—
Molly Mary O’Brien,
Pitchfork,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Come down from your tower for a steak, some seafood plucked from Gulf waters, a martini.—
Elazar Sontag,
Washington Post,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Abbott’s use of AL16 as a marketing tool worked.—
David Hilzenrath,
USA Today,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Randolph and Sullivan had worked together in earlier assignments.—
Emerson Clarridge
Updated March 27,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Sharma sped to 50 off 23 balls.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
29 Mar. 2026
-
The Jeep driver slammed on the breaks and reversed, crashing into the front of Acosta’s patrol car and sped off, leaving the gate pieces on the road.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
28 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hustled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hustled. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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